Stephen Shelley
Artistic Director
Stephen began his career in the arts as the Assistant Company Manager and Personal Assistant to Merce Cunningham. For four years, Stephen traveled the world, and experienced and produced performance on a very large scale. He founded Théatre de la Fête in 1995, and produced/directed a series of works that included “Noah’s Flood”, “Tale of the Magic Glove” and most recently, Seneca’s “Medea”.
Upon leaving MCDC, Stephen directed a small work for the NY International Fringe Festival, “Ashokh”. In this work, he choreographed a 2-person dance to be performed around a woman, dressed in Kabuki clothing, playing Medea. From 2001-2003 Stephen had the pleasure of working with Matt Mitler and Theater Group Dzieci as an actor. He appeared in multiple improvisations around town, on the streets, in hospitals, at festivals and for a variety of specific populations. He also helped premiere Dzieci’s “The Devils of Loudun” at Ellen Stewart’s La MaMa ETC Annex Space in January of 2003. Since then, Stephen has appeared in a variety of Dzieci’s work including 2009′s presentation of the group’s wondrous “Fool’s Mass”.
Stephen has produced theater and events at BAM, The Paris Opera (Palais Garnier), Teatro La Fenice (Venice), Le Corum (Montpellier France), City Center (New York City), La MaMa ETC & Carnegie Hall (amongst others).
Aaron Copp
Production/Technical Consultant
Aaron Copp is a lighting designer working in dance, theater, and music. After graduating from Hartwick College, Aaron worked for eight years in New York, touring with such companies as Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane, ISO Dance Theater, Sankai Juku, Twyla Tharp and Merce Cunningham. He entered the Yale School of Drama in the fall of 1995, studying lighting design with Jennifer Tipton and Steven Strawbridge and set design with Ming Cho Lee and Michael Yeargan. Since graduating from Yale in 1998 he has been freelancing as a designer and consultant. Aaron was the overall Lighting Director for the 2011 Lincoln Center Festival.
Emily Maurer
Community Lead: Williamsburg/Bushwick
Emily Maurer is a dancer and Pilates instructor, living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Emily attended the University of Southern Mississippi, where she had the opportunity to study under visiting artists including Doug Varone, Mark Haim, and Shapiro and Smith. After graduating with a B.F.A. in 2004, Emily went to the American Dance Festival in Durham, NC as a scholarship student. While there, she performed in the ICPP concert for Russian choreographer, Olga Pona. She went on to the Bates Dance Festival in Lewiston, ME, after which she moved to New York.
Emily dances for the Brooklyn based dance company, white road Dance Media. In the fall of 2011, she will be traveling with the company to Austin, TX for a two week residency at the Carver Center. She also teaches Pilates, and is completing her comprehensive certification through Balanced Body University.
Theresa Sgobba
Community Affairs
A non-practicing attorney and resident of Brooklyn, Theresa works at the Vera Institute of Justice (Vera), a New York-based nonprofit organization, where she leads and manages the “Brooklyn for Brooklyn Initiative (B4B),” an effort by New York State to create a community-based and therapeutic model for the state’s youth justice system. As project manager for B4B, Theresa is working with the state to design, develop and pilot the new model here in Brooklyn, where community partners and government officials are united in their commitment to keeping Brooklyn youth close to home, and closely connected to family and community supports. In partnership with a growing coalition of community members, foundations, and organizations, Theresa is helping the Initiative expand and diversify the connections made between system-involved youth, their families, and programs in the Brooklyn community that can improve their lives and the safety of their communities.
Before joining Vera to run B4B, Theresa was a law clerk to the Honorable Judge Deborah A. Batts of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Theresa holds a JD from Yale Law School and a BA from Stanford University.
Susan Grossman
Sponsorship Development
After receiving her B.F.A. from New York State College of Ceramics (School of Art & Design at Alfred) Susan visualized, founded and co-founded numerous on- and off-site arts centers and arts districts; festivals and tours — also creating the programming for many of these organizations and arts start-ups including the Lincoln Art Center (Chapel Hill, NC).
She’s worked with numerous artists, singers, song-writers, actors, architects, designers and administrators, creating permanent and temporary arts spaces — including developing warehouse spaces into arts studios, green-spaces and parks into sculpture gardens and streets into stages. Susan has spearheaded traditional and creative fundraising campaigns and events; written successful proposals and grants designed to benefit the connection between creativity and community. She has worked specifically with Domani Studio (Brooklyn), Brass Booty Records (Chapel Hill, NC) and the Durham Arts Council for fourteen years.
Angello Pizarro
Marketing/Public Relations
Angello Pizarro is a NYC native- born and raised in Park Slope, Brooklyn. He has an interesting background spanning from 10 years as a US Army soldier to being a federal officer to being the communications officer of a popular writers group in Southern Florida. Last August he completed a B.S. in Public Relations with a minor in English/Creative Writing from Florida International University. Angello is also a soulful writer/poet whose Brooklyn upbringing mixed with his experiences as a soldier has shaped his writing style– full of realism, musicality and raw energy. Angello has also worked as day-to-day assistant to renowned Beat Generation writer, novelist, graduate professor and award winning journalist Dan Wakefield, which has since turned into a positive & close mentorship. Angello has recently returned to NYC and is completely dedicated to shining a light upon his hometown’s culture, spirit and art community.
Tom Desmond
Online Marketing & SEO
Tom Desmond is professional New York City Jazz Musician who also works as an online marketing/SEO expert. He created ModernMitzvah.com which became the number one bar mitzvah site on the web. He also created LocalConstructionPros.com, a national contractor directory with over 10,000 members. He is the founder and owner of iSEOiSEO.com, a web development, internet marketing and online reputation management firm.